


覆面 Fukumen

by custoon



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, M/M, More tags to be added, Slow Burn, Sugar Baby Uzumaki Naruto, Sugar Daddy AU with plot, Sugar Daddy Uchiha Sasuke, graphic violence tag is not referring to domestic violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:02:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23812021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/custoon/pseuds/custoon
Summary: Naruto moves to Otogakure to live in Uchiha Sasuke's penthouse and get paid to attend fancy parties.(falling in love is just a bonus)
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 13
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this chapter establishes the setting and starts to show the dynamic between our two boys, let me know what you think please :)
> 
> note: i'm romanizing country names as one word to alleviate the awkwardness of how the countries are named in the series

Naruto has enough time to glance up at the building he'll be living in. It's in the center of the commercial district, an open air market on the street in front bustling with people bartering for fruits and vegetables. The pickings are plenty but poor; the cucumbers are bruised, the corn is underripe and small, and the spinach and cabbages are wilted. A fight breaks out; the doorman doesn't move the hand he has on the gun holstered to his belt when he opens the door for them and his eyes stay roaming over the crowd whose racket rises and falls in waves.

The atrium of the building is a couple stories high, but narrow for a lavish entry and outdated with its dark-stained wood floors and muted blue carpet running from the double-door entry to the elevator on the opposite wall. There's a large, u-shaped desk in the center of the room, two modern lamps in the front corners highlighting the faux-marble table top and adding little to the dim lighting cast by the widely spaced wall sconces. All that sits behind desk is a wood-and-velvet high backed chair and a boxy computer.

The walls emphasize the older, dull atmosphere with their peeling white paint. The furthest wall, at the elevator, is patterned with narrow blue and yellow heptagons that are dizzying to look at. The elevator's door is a manual gate that has to be pushed heavily toward the wall, protesting with a creaking noise all the way.

Once inside the elevator, Naruto sees technology that must have been installed recently although it too is outdated against what he's used to: the button panel of the old elevator has been replaced by a keypad. Uchiha presses a sequence into the keypad too fast for Naruto to see and then the elevator is humming and heaving its way to the fiftieth floor. Neither of them say anything to each other for the ride.

Sasuke Uchiha is the same age as Naruto but has accumulated enough wealth to offer a salary higher than what Naruto's earned during his whole life totaled. At 32, Uchiha is young enough to be considered eligible and is handsome enough to be considered a bachelor. His hair is cut straight and sharp across his brow and falls black and silk-smooth like feathers and fringes his face where it's fallen from his high and short but thick tie back. His half-frame glasses don't warm or soften his dark, cold eyes and he looks unapproachable even slouched in this: three-quarter gray sweats, black sandals, and a white tee. 

If it was ten years ago and Sakura was still hopped up on a younger woman's hormones and not so out and in love, she'd be jealous of Naruto's situation. He snickers a little thinking about how Sakura used to fawn so loudly over men and Uchiha's cold glare creeps down his spine. Naruto straightens his back and schools his face into a blank mask, staring at the pattern of light-to-black that passes through the diamond openings in the elevator door.

The ride is slow and there's nothing but the sound of the pulleys and wires grinding upward until they reach the penthouse. It's obvious once they step into the lobby that this is where the building's major renovations have happened. 

On one wall perpendicular to the elevator is a set of shadow boxes set with blooming plants; across from this is an artistic rendition of Otogakure's skyline with its skyscrapers lit by the light of a rising sun. The wall parallel to the elevator is taken entirely by large double doors framed by narrow floor-to-ceiling windows. White curtains obscure the inside of the penthouse from view.

Uchiha presses his thumb to the print reader attached to the door handle and enters the penthouse. Naruto catches the door right before it snaps shut.

The penthouse is open and light with three walls of floor-to-ceiling glass looking out onto a landscaped patio. Across from the entry, a long island separates the kitchen from the rest of the space, and a cascading water feature behind a huge TV separates a living area with plush fabric couches from the dining room. Next to the entrance doors there are floating glass stairs leading up to a second floor. Behind the stairs, there's a glass wall and door leading to the office. To the left of the elevator is a bathroom.  
Uchiha quickly goes into the office behind the stairs and closed the door behind himself; the glass wall fogs over.

Naruto lets himself onto the patio. It wraps around the entire floor and gives a view of the city perched on the ocean shore. The city seems to spread forever to the east and west. In Otogakure, with its few industrialized areas and fewer skyscrapers, the skyline doesn't get in the way of the scenery but there's not very much scenery to be had and especially no green in sight; Otogakure is flush against rocky cliffs and, between the cliffs and the beach, all there is are shades of brown. The cliffs are covered with a climbing shantytown, the corrugated metal roofing and siding the only spots of color. Below, the buildings are all brown cement and rusted scaffolding with power lines crossing and webbing over the roads. Naruto thinks he can see, on the street below, the movements of people fighting still. The only other two skyscrapers in the city are to the left of the penthouse and the middle building is condemned, its windows blown out and half-boarded and there are cracks in its cement walls where the siding has started to rot away.

The trip to Otogakure had been long. Otonokuni boarders Hinokuni, but it's wide and undeveloped with few roads that wind between its mountains and rice paddies. Otonokuni is a secretive country and its capitol even more secret, so Naruto had no idea what to expect before his escort car had peaked the beachside cliffs and he'd caught his first glimpse of the first city in Otonokuni they'd come by. He hadn't expected this city, with its blatant poverty and bleak scenery, to be the capitol. With a promised $1.2 million per year, he'd expected a city dripping in opulence.

Naruto walks around the patio, taking in the luxuries one by one: an infinity pool, a wet bar stocked with labels he knows to be worth thousands, a fire place circled by white leather couches, and a garden growing exotic herbs and flowers are spread out in the space that's larger than his apartment in Konoha.

Naruto steps quietly into the garden and walks over to a tree. It's starting to bud with leaves. When he reaches up to feel the velvet-soft buds, he notices a nest stuffed between the trunk and a thick branch. He retracts his hand quickly, not wanting to leave behind a trace of his scent too close to the nest and scare away any brooding parents. He peers up into the deeper, higher branches of the tree, and then walks around the garden to look at the other trees in the garden. There are several trees, and nests in most of them. The other nests are larger and built with feathers and sticks and bits and pieces of litter. They're unkempt and neglected, old from past springs. In a few weeks' time there may be new life learning its way on the highest perch in Otogakure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> naruto explores and goes shopping a little

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after this chapter, starting may 4th my plan is to post longer chapters every monday around 7 pm EST :)
> 
> notes on the honorifics (from wikipedia) because the specifics are important in this fic:  
> -kun: can be used by males or females when addressing a male to whom they are emotionally attached  
> -san: title of respect used between equals  
> -sama: respectful for people of a higher rank than oneself  
> tono/-dono: roughly means lord/master/equivalent to milord or monseigneur; below -sama but above -san in level of respect

Naruto shows himself around both floors of the penthouse. First, the kitchen: its white wood cabinets are stocked with high-end ceramic cookware and organic food. The black marble countertops gleam in the motion-sensor lights tucked under the cabinets on the walls. The fridge is camouflaged into the cabinets with a wooden facade and Naruto only finds it when he starts opening all the doors. The spices and canned goods are organized alphabetically and the fridge is row after row of bottled drinks, all evenly spaced and tiered by type down the shelves.

The stove's eight cast iron burners are spotless above the double ovens and there's a wood cutting board built in next to the sink. There's nothing on the counters but Naruto finds a coffee grinder tucked away in one of the cabinets next to a percolator. There isn't a microwave or a toaster or any other quick and modern appliance Naruto is used to using, not even a rice cooker.

The dining room is set for eight people with a high-backed chair at the head of the glass table. The centerpiece is a single stalk of dried valerian flowers and their muted pastel pink blends with the dark brown wall separating the living and dining areas. On the other side of the wall, the water feature cascades silently from the ceiling to the floor, disappearing into a dark pool that's sprouting water lilies; two kumonryu koi fish glide through the foliage. The water is clear and the greenery is tamed but stubbornly growing well. Naruto bypasses the living area to go upstairs.

The second floor landing is itself a second living area with a grand piano displayed parallel to a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows and a single armchair and footrest are sat in front of a grand dark stone fireplace set into the gray wall. The fireplace is stocked with wood but unstained by soot. Perpendicular to the fireplace is a long wall with a set of double doors. Like the entrance to the penthouse, the glass in the doors is obscured from behind by white curtains. The wall perpendicular to this one has a more understated gray wood door; this door is cracked open and Naruto knows it's the private space Uchiha had said he would be provided with.

Its ceiling is sloped toward the outer wall and there's just one round window on the wall opposite the door. There's a second door on the left wall. The room he's been given is small by the standards set by the penthouse but larger than his apartment bedroom in Konoha and better furnished. There's a double bed piled with pillows against its simple but beautiful solid wood headboard. Naruto feels himself sink a few inches into the white duvet when he lies back on the bed.

Next to the bed is a brushed bronze nightstand with a single drawer; he turns on the thin lamp on its surface and a soft yellow light fills the room from under the white fabric shade. He picks up the slim cell phone that's next to the lamp and it wakes up. There are no notifications and when he unlocks it with his thumbprint there are two contacts listed: Uchiha Sasuke and Kabuto. He takes a moment to change those to titles he thinks are more appropriate.

The other furniture in the room is made from the same brushed bronze: a tall double-doored wardrobe and an empty bookshelf are against the wall opposite the bed and a desk and chair set up with a laptop are underneath the window. Naruto pushes himself off the absurdly comfortable bed and opens the wardrobe. It's empty except for the contents of the luggage he'd sent before traveling himself to Otogakure. His clothes are scruffy and worn in the soft wealth of this room.

On the inside of one wardrobe door, Naruto catches his reflection in a full-length mirror. He rubs at the stubble that's grown since yesterday morning and runs a hand through his perpetually messy hair. Uchiha was clean-shaven like he'd waxed his face that morning and his hair had been neat even as it was escaping its tie. Maybe Naruto should grow a beard or let his hair get just long enough to tie back like that. His face is tan, an extreme contrast to Uchiha's pale skin, and there's something still young in his round cheeks and bright blue eyes. A pair of glasses might help, or maybe if he covered the tattoos streaking curved whiskers down his cheeks. 32 and he doesn't have real wrinkles, just crow's feet starting to deepen the corners of his eyes and laugh lines becoming more prominent each time he smiles.

He grabs his orange sweatshirt from the top shelf of the wardrobe, fishing it from where it's almost out of sight, and slides it on easily over his head. His hair goes wild with the static and he pulls up the collar to his nose and breathes in. The penthouse smells like cold ocean salt and old wood and Konoha smells like fresh earth and cooking fires. He can smell everything mixing together when he breathes in and he lets his collar drop back to hang loose around his neck.

The door on the left wall connects to a large master bathroom. It's painted green and the floor is heated sand-colored granite tile. Near Naruto's room is a stand-alone tub large enough to fit three people; it's tucked away by two walls that keep it private and the platform built beneath it places it above the rest of the room. Behind the tub is a floor-to-ceiling picture window that overlooks the ocean.

Between one separating wall and the wall of Naruto's room is a shower space. It's small but has a ledge to rest on and shelves built into its that are an extension of the tiled floor. Further into the bathroom there are two floating sinks with mirrors hung above both. Naruto swings the mirror closest to him open on its hinges and finds his toiletries, complete with his fraying orange toothbrush from home.

The door to the master bedroom is next to the sinks. Naruto puts his hand gently on the handle, pushing down carefully. It doesn't budge. Frowning, he pushes down harder and rattles it a few times before checking his pockets.

Nothing?

He reaches down toward his shoe but stops suddenly, head hung defeated.

"Paranoid bastard," he mutters, kicking the door very, very lightly.

Naruto goes downstairs to the patio to pour himself a shot of fancy sake and watch the sun fall into the ocean. Otogakure's landscape juts out into the bay and it's surrounded on three sides by waves and rocky beaches. From the bar on the patio, the view of the ocean stretches on and on and the sake is sweet. He pours himself one more shot and turns around to put the bottle back on the mirrored display shelf. Before he can put the bottle down, he sees himself in the mirror again. Behind himself is the ocean and the solid wood bar. The sun is setting and it's getting dark. His sweatshirt glows warm in the fading light and his hair stands up obtrusively on his head, making him look even to himself so much younger.

What is he doing here?

His room is still lit dimly by the lamp on the nightstand. The room looks smaller than it had before and the window with its view of the ocean only looks black.

\---

The phone's vibrations are excessively loud against the metal nightstand.

It's 9:27 am and there are 34 missed calls from an unknown number when Naruto picks up the phone. "Good morning, tono. Your escort has arrived." Rough but proper, the man on the other end of the line says a formal goodbye after Naruto mumbles an acknowledgment.

He rolls out of bed. The wardrobe looks pretty reproachful sat across the room when he ignores it and leaves without changing out of the clothes he's been in since yesterday morning. He takes the stairs two at a time and they shake under his steps. On the first floor, Uchiha's office door is still closed and the kitchen is still spotless. Naruto spends a second or two trying to make out the dark shapes behind the fogged glass wall before letting himself out of the penthouse.

The elevator ride doesn't feel so slow today and the lobby is as empty as it was yesterday. The doorman is still stood outside, one hand on his holster and watching the crowded market. Kabuto is a strange man with gray hair kept in a low ponytail with a middle part and fringe that falls awkwardly around his forehead. He has a habit of adjusting his black round framed glasses with his middle finger and Naruto's only met him three times and each time he's worn a navy blue turtleneck short-sleeved sweater that highlights his scrawny figure and pants that are almost but not quite the same color as the sweater.

Naruto holds up his hands and stands with his feet apart. "Gonna search me again?"

"It would be unnecessary, tono. Uchiha-sama has already informed me that you took nothing from the apartment and failed to pick any locks." Kabuto smirks and adjusts his glasses.

"Paranoid bastard."

"Well, I'm sure you can understand. Tono." Kabuto opens the car door for him. "It's not often Uchiha-sama has company, especially not..." He lets the sentence end as he looks Naruto up and down and then slams the door with a laugh.

Naruto leans back. The car has tan leather seats and leg room. It's at least seven years old. The ride is smooth and they pass building after building. He watches them pass: dilapidated, condemned, with electrical wires split and attached in ways that are illegal in Konoha because of the fire hazard. Windows are boarded up or patched with tape or metal, or the bullet holes and broken panes are left open to the air. The car rolls past a kid sitting on a stoop, alone and too young to be alone. He's got a candy in his hand and he's staring up at the muggy sky. Naruto looks straight ahead for the rest of the ride.

The car stops in front of a building that's worn but maintained with fresher paint and clean windows. The sign out front says there are no weapons allowed in the store and the hours are 10 am to 6 pm. In the picture window there are two mannequins, one male and one female, each dressed in semi-formal wear that was trendy in Konoha a few years ago.

Naruto checks the time on his phone. It's 9:45. "We're early."

"They were expecting you at 9." Kabuto's glare seeps into his words and he tacks on a, "Tono."

Naruto catches his gaze in the rear-view mirror. "You don't have to--"

"And have tono whine to Uchiha-sama about my disrespectful attitude?" He rolls his eyes and Naruto copies him.

He's about to let himself out of the car when Kabuto suddenly comes to the door and opens it hastily. "Thanks." Kabuto leaves without a goodbye, only another glare for Naruto.

The store looks dark inside and Naruto doesn't see anyone moving around and preparing for the day but the door opens easily when he pushes on its handle. "Hello? I have an appointment I think, probably under Uchiha Sasuke." The second part of his sentence is quiet. A woman has frantically stepped out of the back room and bows deeply to Naruto.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here to greet you, tono!" she says, more respectful than anyone has ever addressed him before.

Naruto rubs the back of his head and waves his hand. "It's really okay! Um I should really apologize, I'm super late."

"You're perfectly on time, sir!"

"I'm 45 minutes late."

The woman slowly rises out of her bow. Her brow twitches and her fists tighten, knuckles white, where they are clenched against her thighs. Her lips purse before she starts to speak and her eyes remain hovering on the ground at Naruto's feet: "I said--"

"Get the measuring tape from the back," another, older woman says, interrupting the exchange. The young woman bows and scurries away with a mumbled yes, Higashi-sensei. "I apologize for her impudence, tono. Thank you for visiting our store today." She bows lightly and Naruto does the same. "I hope you will forgive her, she's only just begun an apprenticeship with us and is still learning how to care for our most valued customers."

"It's really fine!" Naruto says quickly, waving his hand again in a habit he picked up as a teenager who didn't know how to speak to women. "And you guys don't have to be so formal with me, honestly, I know Uchi--y'know, Uchiha-san, he's probably an important customer and all but I--"

"And you are Uchiha-sama's partner. You deserve as much respect." Her tone is firm and she bows deeply after meeting his gaze with eyes that say he shouldn't stick his foot further up his own ass.

"Ah, right." Naruto grins helplessly. The younger lady comes back with cloth measuring tape and begins to take his measurements. "Is it usually this cold in Otogakure in spring?"

"Ah, yes, I heard you were from Konohagakure. Otogakure does not get as warm as the south, tono. The winters are long and the springs and summers are mild," Higashi-san says. The young woman finishes her task quickly and Higashi-san leads Naruto to a wall stacked to the ceiling with fabric. "Uchiha-sama has requested a suit made for tono. My apprentice has selected fabrics that go well with Uchiha-sama's own preferred wardrobe for this event."

The young woman presents a stack of fabric to Naruto, holding out the bundle bent slightly at the waist. He takes them from her and looks around awkwardly. Higashi-san quickly ushers him to a table and he spreads out the fabric. It's all monotonous grays and blacks. He's sure it matches well with Uchiha's monochrome wardrobe. Naruto has only seen Uchiha twice, besides the pictures he'd had on his profile, and there had never been a spot of color on him from his feet to his hair. Even his eyes were so dark they looked black. Naruto runs his hands over the fabric, sifting through the pile and finding nothing interesting until, at the very bottom, he finds something soft, and smooth, that's different from the rougher wool in the rest of the selection.

"Are you interested in the cashmere, tono?"

"It's so soft!" Naruto exclaims with a smile. Higashi-san returns the expression and her face looks almost as soft as the cashmere.

"It is a very nice type of wool that comes from goats," she explains. "It's a little blue next to Uchiha-sama's preference..." She turns, about to say something to her apprentice, but Naruto stops her.

"I know Sasuke-kun would be happy with it as long as I like it," he says, lying through his teeth with the sweetest smile he has. He sees Higashi-san's apprentice roll her eyes but Higashi-san herself softens even more and agrees to use the cashmere and, during the next several minutes, Naruto wheedles her down until she agrees to make something that's far from Uchiha's intentions.

Maybe he's just here to have fun. He snickers to himself at that thought after he waves goodbye to Higashi-san and her disgruntled apprentice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed this chapter :) the next one will have a lot more narusasu interactions!  
> naruto doesn't seem very suited for life as sasuke's sugar baby, i wonder what made him decide to take the job...? 🤔


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a test...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello~ please enjoy this chapter a day early because i was excited to post it :)

Naruto spends his days wandering around Otogakure. He spends his nights on his laptop, browsing the internet on a low-speed connection. He has been in Otogakure for a week. Uchiha's office door is always closed and the penthouse is always quiet. Nothing moves if Naruto doesn't touch it.

Deliveries to the market are every other day and so every other day there are only scraps. People haggle over the scraps even and there are fights daily. Bodies are left in the street until sundown. The flies pick at the scraps with less hunger than the people do; everything rots.

On the main road the buildings are tall and wide. All these buildings are empty and crumbling; the overhanging roof gives people who crowd around stoops and windows spots of shelter from the ocean wind that's washed the walls smooth and pale. The single main road has a thousand alleyway offshoots that get narrower and darker the deeper they wind. Heat radiates from the electrical wires stacked like firewood against the building walls and he's sweating. Light from windows on both sides of the alleyway shines brighter than the blue sky he can barely see some huge distance above him. Some is following him.

In Otogakure, businesses aren't limited by legality. The alleyways are lined with 20-square-foot stores selling illicit goods and Naruto just wants ramen for dinner. The buildings get so close together that the sky above disappears and all he can hear is the sound of electrical wires humming, water dripping from pipes, and his feet slipping through the mud.

Light catches on the walls around him to make shadows look like people and people look like shadows. Naruto keeps a steady step left, then right. Now there are five people following him.

Black-on-black, masks over their mouths and noses, four of them fit on the walls like paint. He backs up and his back hits one of the thugs' chests. He holds a knife to Naruto's throat, two men stand armed in front of him, and a woman drops from a ladder on the other side of the alleyway. She pulls a single-action revolver out of her jacket and starts to load it.

"Haven't seen you around before, whiskers."

Naruto watches her load five chambers. "Real original."

She keeps going and spins the gun around by its trigger guard. "We like to play a game with the newbies around here."

"Lemme guess. Tic-tac-toe?"

"I'm not too original." She spins and shoots and Naruto flinches when the wall next to his ear dents with impact. Uchiha's standing over the woman with the revolver in his hands. The cylinder is open and the chambers empty one by one and the bullets sink into the mud next to the men begging on their knees.

"It seems, Tayuya," Uchiha says, "that my message was not received." The knife that was held at Naruto's throat finds a different mark and Tayuya screams and the men continue to beg. "I only hope repetition from the source will aid your memory."

"Guess you leave your office sometimes, huh, bastard." Naruto's banter doesn't do well to cover the shake left by adrenaline; Uchiha ignores it and throws twice more to hit two more marks.

"Only to avoid inconveniences. Don't be late on Saturday."

"What's Saturday?"

Uchiha's already gone and that's the last time Naruto sees him until Saturday when he's in the back of a limousine on the way to an event in Sunagakure that Uchiha has to attend.

\---

"Late," Uchiha says but he doesn't look up from his phone. Naruto can see a news article on its screen before Uchiha tilts it out of his sight.

"By ten goddamn seconds," Naruto says. He's out of breath from sprinting out of their hotel and he fishes around in the bar under the seats and gets a napkin to wipe his face.

Uchiha's weight sinks him an inch into the plush limousine seat. One of his hands holds his phone and the other holds a dark drink dewing its glass. He sits still like he was born from the leather at his back and he grew roots in its comfort. He's done his face with light makeup that highlights his jaw and nose. He's wearing contacts and sparkling powder contours around his lash line. His lips--

The limousine pulls up to the event venue, a tall and sprawling estate surrounded by a desert garden. The entryway is grand, wide stairs up to an open balcony half filled with a glistening water feature that shoots bright color into the darkening sky. A red carpet is flanked by photographers and reporters; there are huge cameras and microphones and Naruto takes the door handle and a moment to breathe.

Uchiha grabs the back of Naruto's suit jacket a half-second before Naruto can fully open the door. Naruto doesn't let go of the door handle in time and it snaps back shut where it had begun to open. Camera flashes sparkle on the other side of the door and the crowd murmurs, restless. Uchiha has both hands on Naruto's shoulders before Naruto has time to move and then they're sat face-to-face. Uchiha's eyes are blazing, brighter than Naruto's ever seen them. Naruto grabs at Uchiha's hands, ready to pull them off of himself, but they're locked onto him.

"What the hell--"

"What are you wearing?" Uchiha says. His eyes burn into Naruto's.

Naruto's hands relax and he grins. "Isn't it great?"

He's wearing a three-piece suit and one accessory: the most expensive and precious thing he owns, a crystal-and-pearl necklace given to him by Tsunade. The jacket is a deep sky blue cashmere. The vest and pants are matching white corduroy. The shirt is orange silk. The buttons on the jacket, vest, and shirt are all matching, gold plated with opal inlays. His shoes are black suede and with his jacket open, double-breasted vest done up, and the first two buttons of his shirt undone, he's never felt so luxurious and cool.

Uchiha has an all-black ensemble, the fabrics all matte and soft where they brush against Naruto's wrists. His suit is two pieces, the shirt fully buttoned and tieless. His shoes are a gleaming black leather whose color matches perfectly with the rest of the suit.

Uchiha's eyes move over Naruto's face and then over his body. Naruto, a little jealous, thinks that Uchiha between the two of them looks cooler and this is probably what Uchiha is thinking when he laughs and lets go of Naruto's shoulders.

He doesn't let go of Naruto's gaze. Naruto stares back at him. His expression hadn't changed when he'd laughed and it only gets colder now. "Release my hands," he says.

Naruto lets go of his hands. In his haste he hits Uchiha in the face. Naruto takes a breath to say--

"Uchiha-sama," Kabuto says.

Uchiha pushes Naruto away and brushes his hair away from his face where some of it has fallen out of his neat bun. He sighs and sits back deeper in his seat, fingers tapping quickly against the door frame. Once--twice--then it's quiet. Naruto stares straight ahead, hands folded in his lap and feeling like a scolded boy. "What," Uchiha says without inflection.

Kabuto taps his ear. "Your host is waiting for you, sir."

"Tch." Uchiha reaches around Naruto without looking at him directly and opens the door. The limousine is filled with the shuttering sound of flashes clicking and Naruto stumbles out when Uchiha pushes his back forward. He bows to cover his staggering steps and then smiles and waves at the photographers. "Don't smile," Uchiha mutters, suddenly at Naruto's side with an arm around his waist. "Stop waving. Don't bow to them, they're beneath me." Naruto awkwardly clasps his hands behind his back and Uchiha's grip on his waist is cold. "Don't look so stiff." Then he's walking forward and Naruto grabs the hand on his waist. Uchiha stops moving.

Naruto turns to him and angles his head up to compensate for the few centimeters' height difference between them. He leans in and turns his head just enough so it'll be ambiguous to onlookers; everything's bright and blinding. The crowd is screaming. The photographers are asking for Uchiha to look their way. Uchiha is so tense under Naruto's breath. He's nearly breaking. "Let me do my job, bastard."

Uchiha turns toward him and his lips brush against Naruto's cheek and it's not ambiguous at all. "Do it well and there won't be a problem." He moves half a step back and takes both of Naruto's hands in his. "You look like an idiot and I can't be expected to believe you'll act like anything but," he says; his lips don't move from his smile. It looks real.

Naruto has nothing to say and Uchiha pulls him into an embrace to keep the cameras from seeing Naruto's anger. It's over momentarily and Uchiha strides past press pandering for him to breathe on them. Naruto follows his pace. "Sorry about my boyfriend, he can be pretty grumpy!" incenses the crowd beyond consolation and everyone wants to know his name and his age and his hometown and his backstory and please, please tell us how you met and how long you've been together. He throws hearts and winks and peace signs instead of answers. The crowd throws questions at Uchiha like flowers. It must be serious. Uchiha has never brought a date to any public event.

Naruto lets Uchiha seize his hand and they're out of the fading desert heat. Windows twined with wooden lattices glitter on the arched ceiling; Naruto sees more stars above them than he ever saw in Konoha or Otogakure. Dark wood covers the walls, with double doors spaced evenly around the room, framed with flowing gossamer curtains, leading to a patio that looks over the night desert. The walls arch, high and proud, over each set of doors and the soft gold lighting highlights their intricately carved moulding.

Each table is divided in two by rows of centerpieces set with flowers. There are orange poppies and beautiful, delicate, wispy pink-and-red barbed blooms that Naruto couldn't be asked to name. The pale pink tablecloth is smooth satin under his hand and he doesn't dare touch the hand-painted porcelain tableware. The plates are painted with desert flowers and the bowls with green-and-purple succulents. He thinks the silverware is solid gold.

He counts twenty place settings split in fours; the fifth table stands at the head of the room opposite the entry. It's longer and grander and a line of blazing fire keeps it apart from everyone. No invitation is necessary at the door; those invited to this event are faces known the world over. And so, introductions are unnecessary.

Naruto is led to the table on the right hand of the room that is closest to the fire and Uchiha leaves to mingle with this ambassador and that prime minister as that is all there is to do in such a room. Around him conversation is low and constant and Naruto grabs a roll from a basket on the table as that is all there is to do in such a room. A man in a waistcoat walks past him and Naruto isn't sure if he is an attendee or a server. A pale, delicate hand settles with a gentle grip on his arm.

This man has skin as pale as Uchiha and his hair is as red as blood. His eyelids sit so low above his light green eyes that his pupils nearly disappear behind his lashes. What Naruto notices first, though, is a red tattoo on his forehead, above his left eye, that says love. "Nice tattoo," Naruto says, mouth still full of bread.

"Why are you eating?" the man says, serious and hostile.

Naruto stops chewing. The roll is bitten and the man is paler than he was. Naruto puts the roll on the table and what happens next: he opens his mouth and spits the bread into his hand. The man stands there still while Naruto grasps his free hand and gives him a firm handshake, squeezing the partially chewed dough between their hands. "Nice to meet you, too," he says. The room is silent. The man is breathing harsh and loud, staring at the mess; his fingers shake and a knife that was on the table is in his hand.

And so: Kabuto's hands stay steady when the door slams shut. "Well there's another international incident averted," Kabuto says without looking up.

Naruto does look. Uchiha has his phone held to his ear and one hand on his hip, his scowl deepening the frown lines around his mouth and at his brow and forehead. The tinny sound of someone screaming down the line travels to the other side of the room where Naruto's lying on an uncomfortably firm unused leather couch in private quarters of the estate. Naruto grits his teeth and glares down at Kabuto who's kneeling at his side, jabbing a needle over and over through Naruto's skin to patch what'll soon be a fresh scar. Stitches don't need to be so violent. Gaara didn't need to be so violent. "If that asshole Gaara wasn't such--such an asshole," Naruto grumbles, forcing himself to stand after Kabuto ties off the last stitch, "there wouldn't have been anything to avert or whatever, y'know!"

The tinny voice that Uchiha hasn't made a single response to gets silenced when Uchiha slams his phone down onto a table that shakes, rattling the formal flower arrangement that takes up most of its surface. His fist clenches and he's staring at the ground like he's waiting for Hell to open up and the devil to come to him. Naruto opens his mouth to continue and Uchiha's head whips up and his eyes keep him pinned in place; a post-it note on a corkboard reminding him there's this annoyance in his life now. Kabuto says, tone devoid of anything but his lips curled just slightly, "That asshole Gaara is next in line for Kazenokuni's throne."

"So what, he gets to do whatever the fuck he wants because he's like a prince or whatever?!"

"Yes."

"That's bull anyways, y'know, being royalty doesn't give you more rights than other people--"

Uchiha's fingers rub at his temples and Kabuto begins to file away his medical supplies. Naruto's words die in his throat; the atmosphere in the room is dark and demanding. "Leave," Uchiha says. Kabuto leaves with his arms full of unpacked bandages and his bag a terrible mess. The door closes silently behind him. Naruto moves to leave, too; Uchiha holds up his hand in a gesture to stop and Naruto sits back down on the couch that feels more uncomfortable each second.

Uchiha paces and looks like he belongs in this opulence with soft lighting and silk and leather. He doesn't pace for long and instead sits in an armchair sat across from the couch and crosses his legs. His hands are steepled in front of his face as he stares at Naruto, and then he places a folder on the low table between them. Naruto doesn't have to search it to know what it contains.

"Annoying." Uchiha breaks eye contact, looking out the window; all there is is dark sky and desert washed pale with moon and starlight. "It's compelling." The words in Uchiha's mouth sound like an admission made to a priest.

Naruto knows it's compelling. He was shit in school with the lowest grades in his class and he only barely finished fifth grade because his teacher took pity on him and padded his grades with extra credit. He dropped out after that and eventually learned how to combat his dyslexia and read and write beyond a preschool level. Konohagakure's school system is viewed as a model to admire around the world, including in Kazenokuni; for children whose learning needs go beyond what that standard can provide, however, it is severely lacking. Naruto had sought out teachers when he was older and less jaded and had become what he is today. He nods and Uchiha copies him, crossing his arms; his scowl crosses his face again. It's brief and then he's leafing through the papers. He pulls out a single sheet. It's blank but for a few lines of text.

"I have my own stipulations," Naruto says. He folds flat on the table a piece of paper he's been carrying around. Its text is handwritten and the paper is wrinkled and worn.

Uchiha reads over Naruto's requests. He rolls his eyes. "This is ridiculous."

Naruto laughs. It's a surprise to him and Uchiha both; Naruto runs a hand through his hair and lets his arm fall heavily on the back of the couch. "You're ridiculous." Uchiha's writing Naruto's stipulations at the end of the contract and Naruto fidgets. He stands up and paces between the couch and the window. When he turns around to walk back to the couch a second time he sits back on the armrest; his arms cross. "There's one more I wanted to talk to you 'bout." Uchiha makes a noise like he's probably listening if it's important enough to get processed in his big brain. "You gotta let me carry. Oh, and give me the elevator code, y'know? It's a pain in the ass to bother Suigetsu every time I wanna go back upstairs."

Uchiha's leaning back in the armchair. The last-minute requests are reasonable. Uchiha isn't reasonable. "I thought you knew the code already."

Naruto's arms fall to his sides. "You never told me, bastard."

"Idiot." Uchiha looks him over, first his face and then his body like he'd done in the limousine and there's a moment where Naruto is ready to grab his fancy lapels and probably punch his smug face but there's a bit of a light of humor in his eyes and Naruto relaxes just enough.

"Bastard."

"I should've known you were too stupid to realize what the code is."

Naruto stands up. His eyes blaze and his fist is clenched and raised and he says, "You--you're such a bastard!"

Uchiha laughs for a second; it's real laughter and his shoulders shake and his face relaxes. Naruto sinks back down into the couch. "That's really your only insult."

Naruto rests his head in his hand and mutters, "I also have paranoid bastard."

Uchiha signs the contract. "The code is the date you agreed to move in."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed the chapter~~ i really mean the "slow burn" tag heh.
> 
> if you have the time, please leave a comment and let me know what you think! i appreciate all comments~
> 
> during the next chapters we may find out more about naruto and sasuke's stipulations!


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